Author Archives: Alex Stark

Top Tens – History: Top 10 History Books (2) Edward Gibbon – The History of the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire

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Featured as a meme “the saddest book cover series in history” – the book design of hardcover or leatherbound versions originating from the 1946 edition design by Paul McPharlin with the etchings of Giovanni Piranesi (which included an additional seventh volume of Gibbon’s notes)

 

 

 

(2) EDWARD GIBBON –

THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE & FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

 

Once more but this time it’s the classic titular decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

Indeed, the title alone is so classic, “many writers have used variations” of it since.

And then you have the subject itself, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire – that “melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, retreating to the breath of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear and naked shingles of the world”.

Even now, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire informs much modern discourse about state failure – from Edward Gibbon onwards, “we have been obsessed with the fall: it has been valued as an archetype for every perceived decline, and, hence, as a symbol for our own fears”..

Much of that discourse is whether it was decline or fall. For the former, the Romans were consistently their own worst enemies, not just in their relentless civil wars but also in aspects of internal decline that were observed even as early as the second century – at its peak! – by contemporaries such as the historian Cassius Dio, who lamented the decline “from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron”.

In a nutshell, famously and controversially, Gibbon’s thesis was that Christianity did it – although much of that fame and controversy seems inflated from what Gibbon actually wrote.

But Stark After Dark I hear you say, why do you rank Gibbon so highly, in second place above all your other ranked books of Roman history and in god-tier to boot, when it is so widely considered outdated?

And my answer is that it may be outdated as history but “it remains a foundational, highly readable literary masterpiece”.

Firstly, let’s take that highly readable literary masterpiece part. Prose style always counts for a lot with me and snark doesn’t go astray either. Gibbon has few peers, if any, as prose stylist – “Gibbon’s work has been praised for its style, its piquant epigrams and its effective irony”.

Indeed, I tend to share Churchill’s view of Gibbon’s prose style, on which he modelled much of his own.

“I set out upon … Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire [and] was immediately dominated both by the story and the style. … I devoured Gibbon. I rode triumphantly through it from end to end and enjoyed it all.

Secondly, let’s take that foundational part. It is, dare I say it, ur-history, from which the historiography of the fall of the western empire almost entirely originated. It often seems ironic that one of the ways in which Gibbon is outdated is that he wrote his history from primary sources in preference to secondary sources, as that seems equally an impressive feat – and one for which he ‘is considered by many to be one of the first modern historians”.

Gibbon’s work is so foundational that, in combination with his prose style, it has been foundational not only in history but also in fantasy and science fiction, borrowing from fantasy. Literally, in the case of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation space opera series, which is essentially a galactic retelling of the history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire – which, as Asimov quipped in doggerel, was written “with a tiny bit of cribbin’ / from the works of Edward Gibbon”.

And not just space opera but high fantasy – indeed the highest, as Tolkien was also influenced by Gibbon, with Gondor in The Lord of the Rings corresponding to the eastern Roman Empire after the fall of its western half, and Minas Tirith to Constantinople.

Finally, it has been foundational for me, inspiring my fascination with the history of the Roman Empire, particularly its decline and fall – indeed, empires and their decline or fall in general.

“In accuracy, thoroughness, lucidity, and comprehensive grasp of a vast subject, the ‘History’ is unsurpassable. It is the one English history which may be regarded as definitive…Whatever its shortcomings the book is artistically imposing as well as historically unimpeachable as a vast panorama of a great period”

 

RATING:

S-TIER (GOD TIER)

Top Tens – History: Top 10 History Books (3) Azar Gat – War in Human Civilization

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Oxford University Press, 1st edition (paperback) cover 2008, the edition I own

 

(3) AZAR GAT –

WAR IN HUMAN CIVILIZATION (2006)

 

 

“War, huh, yeah

What is it good for?”

 

Azar Gat’s history of war in human civilization is nothing short of magisterial – and at least halfway answers that famous song lyric, telling us what war is for.

 

That is the fundamental question which this book examines – “Why do people go to war?”.

 

Is it part of human nature or a “late cultural invention” of “civilization”, linked to agriculture, the state or something else? In short, who was right – Hobbes or Rousseau?

 

Has war declined in modernity? If so, why?

 

“In this truly global study of war and civilization, Azar Gat sets out to find definitive answers to these questions in an attempt to unravel the ‘riddle of war’ throughout human history, from the early hunter-gatherers right through to the unconventional terrorism of the twenty-first century”.

 

The book is divided into three parts. Part 2 – titled Agriculture, Civilization, and War – is perhaps the most straightforward of the three, although the overarching question of why people go to war is still present throughout, along with the associated question of how they do. Although he gave the game away in Part 1, Gat definitely leans into Hobbes here, with the emergence of strong central states – Hobbes’ Leviathan – being a key reason for less violent societies. Yes – even when those states make a wasteland and call it peace, as with the Roman Empire and their Pax Romana. He indicates as much with the title of his conclusion for this part – War, the Leviathan, and the Pleasures and Miseries of Civilization.

 

However, Parts 1 and 3 were the most fascinating for me. Part 1 and its sweeping title Warfare in the First Two Million Years indicate that its gamut is the whole of human prehistory – and indeed earlier to hominin prehistory. One myth that Gat dispels in Part 1 is that humans are uniquely prolific for intra-species violence. As Gat demonstrates, they are not – and indeed other animal species match or exceed humans for violence within their own species. Where humans differ is with respect to the targets of their violence. Whereas animals avoid more costly violence against evenly matched males and instead target young or females of their own species (as with the infamous example of male lions killing cubs when they take over a pride), humans are the opposite – targeting other males, often with the express motive of taking women and children as prizes. But you might ask – aren’t human males similarly evenly matched as their animal counterparts? Yes, indeed – which is why humans make it less evenly matched by the preferred strategies of the ambush or raid catching antagonists by surprise, ideally asleep, something which is easier to do for humans than for animals.

 

Which brings us to the other myth Gat dispels in this part – Rousseau’s “noble savage” or rather the myth of a peaceful ‘savage’, where the true escalation of violence in war arising with ‘civilization’, whether agriculture, the state, or something else. Indeed, Gat demonstrates that humans in their “state of nature” or indeed in societies not predominated by powerful central states experience much more violence, usually by substantial orders of magnitude.

 

As for Part 3 – Modernity: The Dual Face of Janus – Gat demonstrates that modernity has resulted in, well, more peace and less violence or war, even if that does not seem to be the case because of the destructive power of our technology. More intriguingly, Gat dispels (or at least introduces cause for caution with respect to) any monomythic explanations for this – such as “democratic peace theory” or fear of nuclear weapons.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****

S-TIER (GOD TIER)

Top Tens – History: Top 10 History Books (4) H.P. Willmott – The Great Crusade

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Raising the flag over the Reichstag – one of the most iconic images of WW2 (as photographed by Yevgeny Khaldei and in public domain), used for the cover of the first edition of the book (and also for its own article on Wikipedia “Raising a flag over the Reichstag”)

 

(4) HP WILLMOTT –

THE GREAT CRUSADE: A NEW COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1989)

 

My bible of the Second World War – the best single “volume history of the Second World War in its coverage of all the major themes and all the fronts”.

And for that matter, one of my favorite volumes of history for any subject – one firmly embedded in my psyche and to which I repeatedly return, particularly on the subject of WW2, with insights or nuggets on almost every page.

For example, comparing the Pacific War to the American Civil War, with the former having uncanny parallels to the latter, even down to the two main American (or Union) offensive directions of each, with Imperial Japan similarly doomed to defeat as the Confederacy and for much the same reasons.

Or the transposition between Germany and the Soviet Union in military proficiency, such that by 1944-1945 the latter arguably equalled or surpassed the former at its peak, while Germany matched many of the same failings for the Soviets back in 1941.

Indeed, most of my own views of the Second World War originate in this book. Much of that is due to the style of Willmott, a strangely neglected or overlooked military historian – to quote excerpts from an Amazon review:

“Interesting, insightful, revelatory…Willmott is Willmott: never less than lucid and coherent, even when his work descends into the “mere chronicle” of army, corps and divisional movements that more properly belong to purely military history…magisterial is no more than an appropriate term with which to describe Willmott’s informative – indeed, transformative – and succinctly and clearly expressed synthesis of the knowledge on such a wide subject.”

Above all, my view of the Second World War originates in Willmott’s main theme or thesis of the book, which he was nice enough to state at the outset – debunking the myth of German military excellence. Indeed, he cheekily adapts Oscar Wilde’s famous quote from The Importance of Being Earnest – to lose one world war may be regarded as misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness

This might seem paradoxical given the extent of Germany’s initial victories – and the Allied effort required to reverse those victories and defeat Germany – but almost as paradoxically, Willmott argues this just illustrates his theme, that Germany could succeed to that extent but still lose.

However, the paradox is resolved by Willmott’s argument, which he repeatedly demonstrates throughout the book, that “the German military genius was in fighting not in war, and along with her Japanese ally Germany was the only great power that did not understand the nature of war.”

One might add that this is the converse of the art of war, at least according to Sun Tzu – and of the Allies in general and the United States in particular. As Willmott observes, in terms of actually waging war, Germany was hopelessly outclassed by the Allies, matched only by the similar hopelessness of their ally Japan.

Willmott has yet another striking insight in his speculation about the reason for this – that the very success of Bismarck, the one German leader who had understood war, that is the limits of military and national power, “blinded successive generations of Germans to these realities because they saw only his military victories”.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****

S-TIER (GOD TIER)

Monday Night Mojo – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): Special Mention (Mojo) (2) Lana Del Rey – Summertime Sadness

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(2) MOJO: LANA DEL REY –
SUMMERTIME SADNESS (2012)
B-side: Blue Jeans (2012)

 

“I got that summertime, summertime sadness”

You and me both, Lana del Rey, you retro pop queen – “self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra” and “L0lita lost in the hood”.

The music of Lana del Rey – or Elizabeth Woolridge Grant – has been noted “for its stylized cinematic quality; its preoccupation with themes of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia; and its references to pop culture” Also – Hollywood sadcore, baroque pop, dream pop and “about music as a time warp, with her languorous croons over molasses-like arrangements meant to make clock hands seem to move so slowly that it feels possible, at times, they might go backwards”

And somehow all of this seems infused in her 2012 trip hop ballad hit, “Summertime Sadness” – so melancholy!

Also something of a crush of mine, although perhaps more as an idea

And as for my B-side, I’ll go with her characteristically mournful love song, Blue Jeans.

Love, like life, is the long lost last look back…

“I will love you till the end of time
I would wait a million years
Promise you’ll remember that you’re mine
Baby can you see through the tears?”

As for the balance of my Top 10 Lana Del Rey songs:

(3) Ultraviolence (2014)
(4) Video Games (2011)
(5) Born to Die (2011)

(6) Ride (2012)
(7) National Anthem (2012)
( 8 ) West Coast (2014)
(9) Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (2022)
(10) A & W (2023)

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP-TIER)

 

Top Tens – History: Top 10 History Books (5) John Keegan – A History of Warfare

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(5) JOHN KEEGAN –

A HISTORY OF WARFARE (1993)

 

The magnum opus of one of the foremost military historians of our time – a global history of war from prehistory to nuclear weapons. (Although one might also argue his magnum opus was his trilogy of The Face of Battle, The Mask of Command, and The Price of Admiralty).

 

After an introductory section “War in Human History”, Keegan organizes his history in broad thematic sections invoking the four classical elements but as the four elements of war, albeit also more or less in chronological sequence – “Stone”, “Flesh”, “Iron” and “Fire”.

 

Between each section is an “interlude”, not so much in chronological sequence but with a focus on recurring aspects – or problems – throughout the history of warfare, respectively limitations on warmaking, fortification, armies, and logistics and supply. For example, the interlude on ärmies dealt with the basic problem of – and limited number of means for – actually raising armies.

 

The titles of those elemental sections speak for themselves – with fire obviously corresponding to the defining characteristic of modern warfare increasingly relying on forms of combustion or energy, from gunpower through the internal combustion engine to nuclear weapons.

 

A personal highlight was the book’s examination of the conquests of the various “horse peoples”, the high point of which were the Mongols, always a subject of fascination for me. Something that has always resonated in my mind ever since is Keegan’s opinion that much of the mobile tactical skill of the horse peoples originated in the same techniques they used on their herds except on their adversaries instead.

 

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****

S-TIER (GOD TIER)

Top Tens – Girls of Video Games: Top 10 Girls of Video Games (Revised 2026)

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Grand Theft Auto 5 cover girl – “bikini selfie girl”

 

The girls of video games – as notorious as the girls of comics or perhaps even more so. There’s a reason Jiggle Physics is a trope – and why this is my second top ten girls list after the girls of comics.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

But first a note on the visual images used in this top ten. Given the copyright in such images, I only use a visual image as fair use for the purposes of comment and review in each entry – an iconic feature image to identify the character, either in general or in their most iconic version as I review it to be (or both), sourced from the published game cover or promotional art, or occasionally captured from gameplay or trailers.

I also include a special section in each entry under the subtitle of art and cosplay – not for any actual art and cosplay as such but instead where I nominate my favorite artists and cosplay models depicting the character, which you can look up for yourself. For art, I award a special ranking for any art by my two favorite artists – the two freelance digital artists Sciamano and Dandonfuga. For cosplay, I award a special ranking for any cosplay by my holy trinity of models – my favorite model Yummychiyo with her insane figure in top spot, followed by Hane Ame and Helly Valentine.

As for the iconic feature image I’ve chosen for this page itself and girls of video games in general, I couldn’t go past the notorious cover girls of the Grand Theft Auto series. Also intimately familiar (heh) to players from the long loading screens, the GTA cover girls have their own history and backstories, although typically with no or limited appearance in the games themselves. It’s arguable which GTA cover girl is most iconic or notorious, but I settled on the bikini selfie girl from GTA5. And yes – unlike other GTA cover girls who have names, that’s as far as her identity goes, an unnamed representative of the game setting Los Santos taking a selfie of herself in a bikini on the beach. Despite apparently being based on a real life model Shelby Welinder that Rockstar Games contracted for a photo shoot, there were waves of speculation as to the identity of the unnamed bikini girl – with two of the most popular being Swimsuit Illustrated model Kate Upton (and to be honest, it does look like her to the extent that I too thought it was) and Lindsay Lohan, the latter even filing a lawsuit.

 

 

Comic cover art by David Nakayama for issue 1A of the tie-in comic published October 2025 (fair use)

 

 

(10) MALEVOLA –

DISPATCH (2025)

 

The Devil from Down Under!

“Dispatch is a 2025 episodic adventure-real-time strategy game” which I noticed through the usual way I notice almost all games – through art and cosplay for its female characters. Hence, it’s my wildcard tenth place entry for best video game girl of 2025.

The narrative of the game seems to involve costumed superheroes and supervillains. Or former supervillains as the case may be – I understand the backstory involves a former superhero forced into retirement from active duty (by destruction of his mecha-suit, near-death experience, and public scrutiny) but assigned as a dispatcher or mission control to Z-team, a team of former supervillains going through rehabilitation and not doing too well at it.

I was spoilt for choice with the female characters on offer in art and cosplay. Blonde Blazer came very close to scoring this entry, particularly as she lends herself more easily to cosplay, but Z-team member Malevola won out because I just can’t say no to devil girls – particularly to devil girls from down under, which I understand in this case to mean Hell or Australia (or both).

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Not surprisingly, Malevola scores my Dandonfuga ranking for art of her, indeed in multiple versions – although I went with comic cover art of her by David Nakayama for my iconic feature image of her.

 

RATING:

X-TIER (WILD TIER)

 

 

Promotional game cover art

 

(9) EVE –
STELLAR BLADE (2024)

 

Normally I lag behind the curve for my girls of video games, until I’m caught up in the wave of art and cosplay from the character – but I boarded the hype train on this one right from the start, such is the media or social media attention she received before her game’s release. From the trailers I saw of her character – particularly in her skin suit – we’re talking the singularity of Jiggle Physics here, people. Oh – and she’s motion-captured from a real life Korean model.

The plot synopsis from Wikipedia – “Humanity is driven from Earth after a losing war against alien invaders called Naytiba. To reclaim their lost home, Eve and her squad are deployed from the Colony to fight the Naytiba and to take back Earth. Eventually, Eve meets a survivor named Adam, who leads her to Xion, humanity’s last surviving city on Earth. Eve then makes contact with the elder Orcal and establishes relationships with the residents of Xion, in order to further her mission to save humanity and reclaim Earth.”

Adam and Eve? See – it’s of Biblical propotions!

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I’ve chosen the promotional game cover art itself.

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

And yes – she may be new to 2024 but she had such an impact that she quickly scored Sciamano and Dandonfuga rankings with their art of her (in alternate versions). I’m slowly building up to an Eve art top ten but so far my favorite artists depicting her include Neoartcore, Logan Cure, Kitty, Shura KRGT, and Aleiira V.

 

COSPLAY – HANE & HELLY

 

Sadly no Yummychiyo ranking – she would rock Stellar Blade’s Eve – but Hane Ame has rocked Eve cosplay and Helly Valentine is a close runner-up

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

An iconic in-game pose in her equally as iconic costume – although she dispenses with the skirt in one variant

 

 

(8) 2B –
NIER AUTOMATA (2017)

 

Nier: Automata (or NieR: Automata) – sequel to post-apocalyptic game Nier. And even more post-apocalyptic! Post-post-apocalyptic, even?

It is the distant future – and the last remnants of humanity have fled to the Moon while deploying combat androids to fight machine proxy wars with alien invaders. Or something like that.

Enter our protagonist YoRHA No 2 Model B, or 2B for short – a white-haired long-legged female model with an elegant steampunk appearance and dangerously short skirt (or leotard) of dubious combat utility.

Not entirely sure why our most advanced military technology in 11495 AD seems to consist of…swords.

Except of course – video game play and video game girls (with swords)!

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I couldn’t go past the screenshot of one of her iconic in-game poses (commonly replicated by cosplay models). It also features her iconic appearance and costume, although she does dispense the skirt in the game and just goes round in her leotard she wears underneath it.

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

One of the most popular video games for artists, she scores both Sciamano and Dandonfuga rankings as both have done art of her. Even artists that more usually work in comics couldn’t resist her allure – such as Elias Chatzoudis and Nathan Szerdy.

Here’s my top ten on the spot for 2B art:

1 – Sciamano (apparently 2B art is also a favorite for the artist as well)

2 – Dandonfuga (for my Dandonfuga ranking)

3 – Elias Chatzoudis (for one of my favorite works of Nier art – by a professional comics artist to boot)

4 – Nathan Szerdy (more 2B art by a professional comics artist)

5 – Kikol Draws (Nier Automata and 2B is one of Kikol’s favorite subjects – and the source of some of my favorite 2B art)

6 – Neoartcore (for sensational 2B art)

7 – Logan Cure (for yet more sensational 2B art)

8 – Magion02 (2B is the subject of some of Magion’s best artworks)

9 – Ayyasap (for some nice 2B art)

10 – Aroma Sensei (Aroma Sensei does like doing art of white haired pretty girls)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

 

AI shoutout to Naughty Neurals.

 

COSPLAY – YUMMYCHIYO  (HANE & HELLY)

 

2B is also popular among cosplay models, getting a clean sweep of rankings from my holy trinity of cosplay models – Yummychiyo, Hane and Helly. Hane Ame deserves a special shoutout – I’d rank 2B among her best (and signature) cosplay.

I can’t quite rank a top ten of 2B cosplay but it’s close – with Octokuro, Lupinus, Tako, and Kato ranking after my top three cosplay models for their 2B cosplay.

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

Promotional art of Ahri’s classic skin from the League of Legends website

 

 

(7) AHRI –
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS (2009)

 

Foxy lady!

I could just continue with the lyrics of Jimi Hendrix’s song but…

League of Legends (or LoL – lol) is a multiplayer online fantasy role-playing game in a similar style to World of Warcraft, although it has surpassed the latter in popularity since its release in 2009. The game’s popularity has also extended into merchandise and other media. The game mechanic is essentially that players control a character or ‘champion’ with distinctive abilities in the fantasy world of Runeterra, who then battles against other champions – “the champions and setting blend a variety of elements, including high fantasy, steampunk, folklore, and Lovecraftian horror”.

This insanely popular game has an insanely massive backstory or ‘lore’ to match – it has evolved from the original titular League of Legend (a magical battle arena used used to settle disputes between the competing fantasy factions) to the aptly named Universe, an extensive encyclopedia website (as well as written stories, artwork, comics, animations and other media).

So the choice of fantasy girl for this entry was tricky (and indeed deserving of its own top ten list), as there are again an insanely large number of characters from which to choose – 136 champions as at April 2017 – of which there are a number of female characters that are insanely hot. That’s even more so as each character has a number of variant appearances or ‘skins’, as well as other customizations.

In the end, however, there could be only one – Ahri the Nine-Tailed Fox. With her shapely form in her revealing, ah, skins, she has consistently appeared at the top of lists or polls for “the most desirable girls in the League” – which is only apt, as it reflects her seductive nature in the game itself. “To wit, she is so attractive that the sheer amount of s€xiness she puts out is a canonically-accepted game mechanic”. So much so that even other girls, not to mention otherworldly beings and eldritch abominations can find her attractive – and if they don’t, she can make them, as the most distinctive of her game abilities is a charm spell in the form of a blown kiss and shape of a heart.

As for her backstory, she was a literal fox, albeit smarter than the average fox, given that she was that foxy magical being known in Japanese folklore as a kitsune (or more precisely the somewhat more vampiric Korean equivalent known as a gumiho) – with intelligence and magic (including enchantment, illusion and shapeshifting) right down to the additional tails they grow as they get older, up to nine in total.

However, Ahri had ambitions to shift to a human shape and so she absorbed the life essence of a dying mage on a battlefield. With her newfound humanoid form, magic and seductive charm, she continued to absorb the life essence of men, until she contracted a case of conscience from – and about- sucking souls. (She can still do it but she’s just nicer about it).

In-game her character is a “deadly mage-assassin reliant on a heart-shaped Charm spell with a seduction-heavy theme and backstory”. She has taken to her human shape, although she retains such fox-like characteristics (or vulpine characteristics, if you want to be fancy about it) – her brightly colored eyes, whisker-like facial markings, cute fox ears and above all those nine fluffy and incredibly agile tails, which resemble luxurious pillows on which she often lounges seductively.

And how! She’s seductive in her classic variant, but then there’s her variant ‘skins’ (some of which sound like various fashion or fragrance lines) – Arcade, Challenger, Dynasty, Foxfire, Midnight and Generation ‘skin’.

 

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, what better than the promotional art for her classic skin or appearance from League of Legends itself?

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

She scores both Sciamano and Dandonfuga rankings for their art of her – particularly Sciamano as his art of Ahri is among my favorite both for the character and for his art.

Here’s my top ten on the spot for Ahri art:

1 – Sciamano

2 – Dandonfuga

3 – Artgerm (coming close to Sciamano’s art for my favorite image of Ahri)

4 – Logan Cure

5 – Kittew

6 – Neoartcore

7 – Prywinko

8 – Ayyasap

9 – Olcha S

10 – Naughty Neurals

 

COSPLAY – HANE & HELLY

 

No Yummychiyo ranking but she scores a high Hane and Helly ranking, particularly the former. Ahri is one of Hane Ame’s favorite characters to cosplay and her signature cosplay in all of Ahri’s various skins.

As for other Ahri cosplay in order – Kalinka Fox (aptly enough) and Hedy.

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

Mai Shiranui in promotional art for The King of Fighters XIII

 

 

(6) MAI SHIRANUI –

FATAL FURY / KING OF FIGHTERS (1992)

 

I do like my ninja girls!

Not surprisingly, they are a staple of the fighting game genre of video games. Mai Shiranui is yet another ninja girl – or kunoichi for the proper term. And as usual for ninja girls in popular culture, her signature fighting costume seems distinctly un-ninja-like or particularly conspicuous for a ninja (that highly visible ninja trope again). Firstly, there’s not much of it, all the better to display her, ah, jiggle physics (literally her trademark fighting stance – or bounce). Apparently that aspect of her character was inspired by tales of kunoichi using their bodies for seduction and distraction – I’m certainly distracted!. Secondly, it’s red – and rather weird in its design.

She made her debut in the Fatal Fury fighting game series in 1992 – a series which consistently features that usual plot excuse of martial arts action set pieces, a martial arts tournament (which also strangely seem to be run by crime lords). From there, it becomes complicated as the Fatal Fury characters then featured in King of Fighters, a crossover series combining the company’s other fighting game series.

The development of her character is quite intriguing, from her intended origin as a “sexy and beautiful kunoichi” (with her official character description in games as the “Gorgeous Ninja” or the “Knock-Out Ninja”). Apparently, her, ah, bust and buttocks were modelled after two different Japanese actresses (and her costumes certainly don’t let them go to waste). Otherwise, she “represents the ideal of a Japanese woman – or yamato nadeshiko. Her profile lists her height, weight and measurements, because of course it does (1.64 m or 5’4”, 48 kg or 106 pounds and 87-55-91 or 34-22-36).

Mai is the Japanese word for dance while her surname is the Japanese word for an atmospheric ‘ghost-light’ phenomenon, referencing her pyrokinetic abilities. Her weapon of choice is the characteristic kunoichi set of folding fans or tessen.

“Largely due to her sex appeal, Mai has become one of the most popular, recognizable and celebrated female characters of the fighting game genre and video gaming in general, especially in Japan, China and some other East Asian countries.”

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I chose the promotional art for her from King of Fighters XIII. It may not be up there with the glorious fan art for her but it still showcases her game…assets. Not to mention one of her classic poses.

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

Everyone loves Mai – especially artists and it is her prolific fan art, even after over three decades, that sees her in my top ten.

And yes – it also sees her score Sciamano and Dandonfuga rankings for their art of her, with the latter some of my favorite Mai art.

As for my Mai top ten art on the spot

1 – Sciamano (for my Sciamano ranking)

2 – Dandonfuga (for my Dandonfuga ranking – and some of my favorite Mai art)

3 – Kikol Draws (for some of my favorite Mai art)

4 – Artgerm (consistently the professional comics artist with the best art of video game girls)

5 – Neoartcore (for Mai in Neoartcore’s usual style)

6 – Logan Cure (for Mai in Logan Cure’s usual style)

7 – Ayyasap (for cute Mai art)

8 – Prywinko (for Mai in Prywinko’s usual style)

9 – Kittew (for some sizzling Mai art – too hot to handle!)

10 – Magion02 (recently bringing their A-game to Mai art)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

Al Rio (for some of my favorite art of Mai I just happened across)

AI shoutout to Naughty Neurals.

 

COSPLAY

Sadly no cosplay from my holy trinity, all of whom would rock Mai cosplay – Yummychiyo, Hane, or Helly.

There is a lot of quality Mai cosplay out there, including my favorite models – Anxi, Miu, Nami, and Giorgia Cosplay.

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

Promotional game art – with facial re-design

 

 

(5) RAPI –
GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE (2022)

 

That’s right – the girls of Goddess of Victory: Nikke, a science fiction third-person shooter role-playing game, really jiggled on to the scene when the game was released in November 2022.

And that’s also right – they’ve spelt Nike, the usual translation of the name of the Greek goddess of victory, with an extra k.

As for the plot, it’s somewhat similar to the Nier Automata series – a far-future post-apocalyptic Earth, albeit one in which humanity is not extinct, but close to it as remnants that have retreated to a technologically advanced underground bunker known as the Ark. Retreated that is, from extraterrestrial robots known as Raptures.

Like Nier Automata, humanity is fighting back with Nikkes- combat-ready androids in the form of beautiful women, a curious design choice but one obviously chosen by someone similar to me because that’s exactly how I’d design them, or anything really. The androids fight in teams led by human commanders which I understand to be essentially the gameplay.

One of those Nikkes is Rapi, the iconic poster girl of the game who has featured heavily in their promotion as well as fan art and cosplay – in a design seemingly resembling some sort of Red Army fetish girl in stockings.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

What better than the game’s own promotional art as iconic both of Rapi and the game itself?

 

ART

 

Sadly no Sciamano or Dandonfuga ranking. Indeed, I haven’t come across much fan art for her at all, at least from my favorite artists.

 

COSPLAY – YUMMYCHIYO & HANE

 

On the other hand, there’s an abundance of quality cosplay for her, including from Yummychiyo and Hane Ame – hence her Yummychiyo and Hane rankings.

Ranking the top Rapi cosplay in order – Hane Ame (for classic Rapi uniform cosplay), Yummychiyo (for summer swimwear Rapi cosplay), Lupinus (Rapi is her signature cosplay), Aqua, Fufukowa, By0ru, Ain Nguyen, and Ely.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

 

 

Game character promotional art

 

(4) ASUNA –
BLUE ARCHIVE (2021)

 

“Wait – it’s all Asuna and Karin?”
“Always has been”

There seems to be a recurring trend in games from the 2010s and 2020s which involve gameplay of recruiting literal teams of girls for combat or similar missions. At least in Nier Automata, the pretext was that the combat-ready androids were designed in the form of beautiful woman – as I’ve quipped elsewhere, a curious design choice but one obviously chosen by someone similar to me because that’s exactly how I’d design them, or anything really.

Perhaps not as curious a design choice as here though, where you are a teacher – addressed as “sensei” of course – and, ah, recruit your students, albeit I don’t remember any students who looked liked this at my school, even without their distinctive haloes.

“You awake as a “sensei”, after seeing an unknown yet familiar girl in your dreams. You are tasked by the Vice President of the General Student Council of the sprawling academic city of Kivotos to find the GSC’s missing president… gameplay is done on an isometrically-viewed battlefield. You fight by using students you’ve recruited as units in a formation of 6″.

Given it’s a “sprawling academic city”, there’s about eleven schools and each school has a host to students to choose from, so there’s a lot of potential Girls of Blue Archive, but when it comes to art and cosplay, it is indeed like that astronaut with the gun meme – it’s all Asuna and Karin, the two signature girls of the game hailing from the Millennium Science School (and its ‘Cleaning and Clearing’ club or affiliation, hence their, ah, maid outfits). As per TV Tropes, Asuna and Karin are “Blue Archive’s poster girls for it being fetish fuel best known for the fanservice”. Of course, their variant bunny costumes help so much.

Each of the Cleaning and Clearing maids are assigned a number – with Asuna as 1 and Karin as 2, which would also reflect my rankings for them, with Asuna just edging forward of Karin to claim a top ten spot (while Karin and other girls of Blue Archive rank special mention)

Asuna is a buxom blue-eyed blond, typically with hair over one eye and a blue theme to her, including her halo. Essentially, she’s carefree and ditzy, but lucky.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

The best Blue Archive art is the game’s own promotional character art and Asuna is no exception – hence my choice for iconic feature image. The only issue was that I had to choose among the Blue Archive game promotional art for Asuna’s different ‘skins’ – her default school uniform, her maid costume and her formal attire design by artist Dishwasher1910, but the choice could only go to her bunny girl costume.

 

ART

 

Sadly no Sciamano or Dandonfuga ranking but I can at least nominate three artists for my favorite fan (bunny) Asuna art – Kikol Draws, Magion02 and Prywinko. And of course the artists for her promotional game character design (including Dishwasher1910).

 

COSPLAY – YUMMYCHIYO  (HANE AME)

 

Fortunately my favorite cosplay models step up – indeed, Asuna might well have one of the highest Yummychiyo rankings, given that she’s arguably the signature cosplay for my top favorite model Yummychiyo. She also has a high Hane Ame ranking, with Asuna as some of Hane Ame’s best cosplay in prolific photo sets for different itirations of the character.

 

My Asuna cosplay top ten on the spot

1 – Yummychiyo

2 – Hane Ame,

3 – Uri

4 – Aqua

5 – Fufukowa

6 – Okita Rinka

7 – Natsume

8 – Miu

9 – Rissoft

10 – Azami

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 – By0ru

2 – Meenfox

 

 

RANKING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

 

Yes – that is her game promotional art for her Race Queen skin “Stunning Speedster”

 

(3) ATAGO –
AZUR LANE (2017)

 

“Oh my, what a cute commander~ I’m Atago. I might just take good care of you…”

Ahoy! What is it with video games and ‘ship girls’ – anime girls literally personifying Second World War naval vessels? Let’s face it – there’s nothing that fans can’t or won’t see as anime girls. (Hello Earth-chan or Black Hole-chan!)

In 2013, it was Kantai Collection – KanColle or Fleet Girls in English, with girls personifying Imperial Japanese Navy vessels (somewhat disturbingly, given Imperial Japan’s role in the war) against a mysterious abyssal alien opponent.

And in 2017, Azur Lane is a Chinese copycat version of the same thing – perhaps even more disturbingly with the same focus on Imperial Japanese naval vessels, given Imperial Japan’s actions towards China.

But I can’t stay mad at Imperial Japanese vessels when they’re anime catgirls. As usual, Azur Lane came to my attention through cosplay – particularly cosplay of Atago, ship cat-girl for the Imperial Japanese Navy heavy cruiser of the same name. Or more precisely, ship dog-girl, as she sports dog ears (as all the Japanese ship girls have animal ears or tails). Similarly to Kantai Collection, embodying a big ship, she has some, well, big guns – along with her sisters in the Takao heavy cruiser class. While her original appearance features her in white naval-style uniform, she has a number of racier ‘skins’ or appearance – we all know we’re here for Race Queen (or RQ) Atago, in which she barely fits in a black and white racing flag-style bikini outfit. O my goddess!

As for ranking her Race Queen skin as well as her other skins, you can find my Top 10 Atago skins here, as a sub-page of my Top 10 Girls of Azur Lane

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, there was only one choice – the promotional art for her Race Queen skin!

 

ART – SCIAMANO

 

Atago arguably scores THE Sciamano ranking – my all-time favorite Sciamano art of any character and the one that originally drew me (heh) to his art, as the first Sciamano art I saw. It’s also my favorite art of Atago, both in her Race Queen version and her more formal dress uniform version.

Sadly, Atago does not have prolific art from my favorite artists so I don’t have enough for a top ten – Sciamano would rank first of course, but after that there’s Kikol Draws and Kittew

 

COSPLAY – YUMMYCHIYO & HANE

 

However, Atago does have prolific cosplay, particularly in her Race Queen version because – just look at it!

She does score my Yummychiyo ranking, but perhaps even more so my Hane ranking. Ahri may be Hane Ame’s signature cosplay (and her personal favorite) but her Atago is up there as well – the Race Queen skin of course but also the other skins.

And I can squeeze out a top ten of Atago cosplay

1 – Hane Ame (one of her signature cosplays – and a reliable source of Azur Lane cosplay in general)

2 – Yummychiyo (another reliable source of Azur Lane cosplay)

3 – Fufukowa

4 – Takomayuyi

5 – Biya

6 – Natsume (another reliable source of Azur Lane cosplay)

7 – Anxi

8 – Okita Rinka

9 – Oripiepie

10 – Camilla

 

RATING: 5 STARS****
S-TIER (GOD TIER)

 

 

 

(2) TIFA LOCKHART –

FINAL FANTASY (1997)

 

Pinup girl of the cyber-generation. Introduced in FFVII – the same edition of the game that broke through to widespread Western popularity. Coincidence? I think not.

She’s of the fantasy monk character class. Think kung fu not Christian – a combination of martial arts and mystical training. In a black mini-skirt – for extra kicks.

Also measures in at 36-24-35″ (or 92-60-88 cm – at 5 feet 6 inches or 167 cm) because of course she does.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I chose one of her more popular game screenshots – which seems to be popular for a reason.

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

Tifa scores both Sciamano and Dandonfuga rankings, with Sciamano’s art as some of my favorite for his art and also for Tifa herself – but Tifa is very popular among artists and arguably the most popular subject among ‘fan’ artists. Here’s my Tifa art top ten on the spot:

1 – Sciamano (for my Sciamano ranking with a number of artworks of her – including one in tribute to her appearance in the Italian Parliament. No, seriously)

2 – Dandonfuga (for my Dandonfuga ranking – as above with a number of artworks of Tifa)

3 – Neoartcore (for cute Tifa art – with multiple artworks)

4 – Kikol Draws (Tifa is one of Kikol’s specialties and best subjects – with multiple artworks of her)

5 – Magion02 (for one of my favorite artworks of Tifa in canonical swimsuit)

6 – Artgerm (one of the few professional comics artists I know to feature her in his art – at least as far as I know)

7 – Logan Cure (for multiple artworks of Tifa)

8 – Aroma Sensei (for some of the best Tifa artwork outside her canonical costumes)

9 – Kittew (another artist with some sizzling art of Tifa as recurring subject)

10 – Shura KRGT (for Tifa in her classic costume)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

She’s a favorite among AI artists as well – shoutout to Naughty Neurals among others.

 

COSPLAY – YUMMYCHIYO, HANE & HELLY

 

Tifa may be even more popular among cosplayers than she is among artists – perhaps one of the most popular subjects of cosplay of all time. She certainly gets a clean sweep of my holy trinity of cosplay models – Yummychiyo, Hane & Helly. However, if I had to choose between them, I’d have to nominate Hane as the definitive Tifa cosplayer – both as a contender for another Hane Ame signature cosplay but also as the definitive cosplay of Tifa throughout her costumes. Wow – at this rate, I may just have to do a top ten Hane Ame cosplays. My Top 10 Girls of Video Games alone has seen some of her best (and signature) cosplays – probably Ahri in top spot as Hane’s personal favorite, but then Tifa, Atago and Asuna.

 

As for my Tifa cosplay top ten on the spot –

1 – Hane Ame

2 – Helly Valentine

3 – Yummychiyo (as my favorite cosplay model but ranking third here as Hane and Helly have more prolific cosplay of Tifa)

4 – Uri

5 – Kalinka Fox

6 – Aqua

7 – Lupinus Rando (just a glimpse of Tifa cosplay!)

8 – Kisaragi Ash

9 – Diaphora

10 – Camilla

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 – Vampy Bit Me

2 – Katyuska Moonfox

3 – Octokuro

4 – By0ru

5 – Miu

6 – Rissoft

7 – Anxi (if only I could find Tifa cosplay by her colleague Hedy, who would also rock it!)

8 – Ely Cosplay

9 – Plant Lily

10 – Meenfox

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

 

Tomb Raider Anniversary edition – 2007 release

 

 

(1) LARA CROFT –

TOMB RAIDER (1996)

 

Could there be any doubt? There could only be one girl in the top spot as THE most famous, THE most iconic and THE most enduring action girl in video games (or indeed, video games protagonists in general) – the first (if not only) female video game character most people would name as such: Lara Croft, tomb raider. (Indeed, she holds a Guinness World Record for most recognized female video game character).

Tomb Raider is a video game franchise with Lara as the titular tomb raider and adventurer archaeologist (who, along with Indiana Jones, made archaeology seem adventurous rather than the boring dusting of broken pottery that it is in reality). The games have her trotting the globe, raiding tombs for treasure while avoiding rival hunters, wildlife, and various death traps.

Since its debut in 1996, the games have sold millions of copies and extended into comics, films (with Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander in the title role) and an animated series.

As for Lara herself, does she need any introduction? “A British archaeologist who has a knack for descending into trap-riddled tombs and ruins, and loves every bit of it”.

Armed with her wits and her trusty dual pistols” (with seemingly limitless ammunition, “Lara uncovers secrets across the globe stopping at nothing to get what she wants”. She is the archetypal video game action girl, “practically the trope codifier” for female video game protagonists of this type, and “at the height of her popularity, she was probably the best recognized and most popular video game character originating in the western hemisphere”.

Of course, two continuity reboots have led to three radically different Laras, while changing game design has multiplied these Laras even more, with alternate outfits (as well as magazine advertisements) from wet suits to bikinis to cocktail dresses.

Throughout her incarnations, she has been a s€x symbol, one of the earliest in the video game industry to achieve widespread attention, portrayed by official models and licensed for promotion or appearances – “as of June 2016, Lara Croft has been featured on over 1,100 magazine covers surpassing any supermodel”.

In appearance, she is depicted with brown eyes and reddish-brown to brown hair, frequently kept in a pleat or ponytail, with her classic costume of turquoise tank top, light brown shorts, boots and socks (although, as noted above, there are variations on the theme and different costumes).

Her basic (or classic) costume makes for prolific cosplay – not to mention her official models. All hail Lara Croft, Tomb Raider and goddess of video games!

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I went with her game art from the 2006 Tomb Raider: Anniversary edition, still arguably the classic version of the character.

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

Not surprisingly, as the iconic girl of video games Lara scores both Sciamano and Dandonfuga rankings – as my favorite art from her and among my favorite art from those two artists.

 

As for my Lara art top ten on the spot

1 – Sciamano (for my Sciamano ranking with a couple of versions)

2 – Dandonfuga (for my Dandonfuga ranking again with a couple of versions)

3 – Neoartcore (for cute Lara art)

4 – Nathan Szerdy (for some fine Lara art, although I would have expected more)

5 – Sun Khamunaki (not as prolific as expected but she has done some Lara art – and Zenescope characters in the style of Lara)

6 – Elias Chatzoudis (again for some fine Lara art, although I would have expected more)

7 – J Scott Campbell (not surprisingly – as Lara is a girl made for that classic Campbell style)

8 – David Nakayama (for a classic piece of Lara art)

9 – Logan Cure (for hot Lara art)

10 – Prywinko (for cute Lara art)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 – Michael Turner (for classic Michael Turner art of Lara)

2 – Adam Hughes (for classic Adam Hughes art of Lara)

3 – Greg Horn (for cover art in photo-realistic style)

4 -Jeff Champion (also for cover art in photo-realistic style)

AI shoutout to Naughty Neurals

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

Sadly no Yummychiyo or Hane ranking – I’d love to see it! – but she does score a mighty fine Helly ranking.

 

Poster art of Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in iconic pose in the 2001 film

 

MEDIA & MODELS

 

Lara is my only Girl of Video Games with both media adaptations and official models.

 

For the first, the definitive cinematic incarnation of Lara remains that portrayed by Angelina Jolie in the 2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider film and its 2003 sequel. The films may have been of, ahem, average quality, but Jolie perfectly embodied Lara for the screen. Live-action Lara was reprised by the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander – after her breakout role as the robot girl in Ex Machina – in the 2018 Tomb Raider film which sought to reboot the film franchise but sadly failed to do so.

 

 

Yes – I’m going there. Apparently, Christmas Jones in the 1999 James Bond film The World is Not Enough as played by Denise Richards was based on Lara Croft – at least in visual design – and Richards was rumored for casting as Lara. Christmas Jones may have not been – how do I put this delicately? – one of the best Bond girls but I’m including her as special mention for media adaptations of Lara, indeed prior to any other live action film. I don’t know if Richards would have embodied the character as well as Jolie in performance – but certainly would have in appearance.

 

Rhona Mitra, the second official promotional model for Lara, shown here in classic pose

 

Secondly, her video game company had nine professional models to portay Lara for promotional events – in chronological order as follows:

1 – Nathalie Cook (English model) 1996-1997

2 – Rhona Mitra (English model & actress) 1997-1998 – arguably the highest profile model, given that she went on to quite the acting career, usually in action girl roles, hence my (fair) use of her in classic promotional pose to represent the Lara Croft models. One wonders why they didn’t cast her as Lara in film (or television)

3 – Vanessa Demouy (French model) 1998

4 – Nell McAndrew (English model) 1998-1999 – sadly fired for posing in Playboy

5 – Lara Weller (Dutch model) 1999-2000

6 – Lucy Clarkson (English model) 2000-2002

7 – Jill de Jong (Dutch model) 2004-2006

8 – Karima Adedbibe (English model) 2006-2008

9 – Alison Carroll (English model) 2008-2010 – after which the company discontinued the use of models

 

Okay – I’ll include an image of the last Lara model Alison Carroll as tribute (and also as my personal favorite of the models)

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS-TIER)

 

 

 

 

 

FANTASY GIRLS –
GIRLS OF VIDEO GAMES: TOP 10 (TIER LIST)

 

S-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

(1) LARA CROFT – TOMB RAIDER (1996)

Like Wonder Woman in comics, Lara pretty much defined girls in video games for me and remains the definitive girl of video games.

(2) TIFA LOCKHART – FINAL FANTASY

(3) ATAGO – AZUR LANE

(4) ASUNA – BLUE ARCHIVE

(5) RAPI – NIKKE: GODDESS OF VICTORY

If Lara and Tifa are my Old Testament of girls in video games, Atago, Asuna and Rapi are my New Testament.

 

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

(6) MAI SHIRANUI – FATAL FURY / KING OF FIGHTERS

(7) AHRI – LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

(8) 2B – NIER AUTOMATA

(9) EVE – STELLAR BLADE

 

X-TIER (WILD TIER)

(10) MALEVOLA – DISPATCH

Finally, my wildcard tenth place entry for best video game girl of 2025

 

Top Tens – Girls of Comics: Top 10 Girls of Comics (Revised 2026)

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Witchblade 55 released by Image Comics (Top Cow) May 2002 – special cover art by Eric Basaldua

 

 

TOP 10 GIRLS OF COMIC

 

Ah – the girls of comics! There’s a reason that they’re first among my fantasy girls.

Indeed, there’s any number of reasons – I’ll resist the obvious gag of two reasons – such as literally embodying what TV Tropes jokingly labels the most common superpower (as part of the buxom beauty standard…or any number of  other tropes). Indeed, it’s so common it’s easier to simply nominate exceptions rather than the rule (or as in the actual trope entry in TV Tropes, the examples that are justified or ‘lampshaded’ in-universe, setting aside that other trope world of buxom). That’s compounded by costumes that are more in the nature of bodysuits, latex, lingerie or swimsuits – what TV Tropes jokingly labels ‘stripperiffic’.

I could debate whether such depictions are gratuitous, such as the argument that it reflects the American art style of depicting superheroes, male and female, as ‘larger than life’ or the tendency of media to default towards physical attractiveness, even for supposedly average or unattractive characters (most notably with what TV Tropes labels as Hollywood homely). For example, Spiderman is meant to be an average teenager – indeed a gawky or nerdy one, something of a loser – but just look at him. Ditto Wolverine – short and homely in comics but ends up being portrayed by Hugh Jackman.

I could debate it, but I’d prefer to count down my Top 10 Girls of Comics instead.

 

ART & COSPLAY (MEDIA & MODELS)

 

But first a note on the visual images used in this top ten. Given the copyright in such images, I only use visual images as fair use for the purposes of comment or review in each entry – a feature image to identify the character, either in general or in their most iconic version as I review it to be (or both), sourced only from published cover art as cited, often which I review to be iconic of itself or which influenced my view of their most iconic version (or both).

I also include a special section in each entry under the subtitle of art and cosplay – not for any actual art and cosplay as such but instead where I nominate my favorite artists and cosplay models depicting the character, which you can look up for yourself. If there’s enough of them, I’ll often compile a top ten on the spot. For art, I award a special ranking for any art by my two favorite artists – the two freelance digital artists Sciamano and Dandonfuga. For cosplay, I award a special ranking for any cosplay by my holy trinity of models – my favorite model Yummychiyo with her insane figure in top spot, followed by Hane Ame and Helly Valentine. I also have a ranking for appearances of the character in media if any – cinema and screen that is – as well as those select few characters who have official models portray them, noting my favorites. These may include further images as fair use for the purposes of comment and review of those media appearances or models.

As for the title feature image I’ve chosen for this page, it is one of the most iconic images – if not the most iconic image – not only for the Witchblade comic but for girls in comics in general, virtually a showcase of the girls of comics and the tropes I highlighted in my opening, by an artist that has given us so many such iconic images, Eric Basaldua, although this is perhaps his most famous. You can see his distinctive signature – Ebas – on the cover, although it appears to be dated 2003, presumably for this special cover release after the original release. And you can’t argue with that t-shirt – not that she normally wears it as part of her costume although she probably wouldn’t mind one given how little her Witchblade armor actually covers. Who doesn’t love comics, particularly the girls of comics when they’re drawn like this?

 

 

Kickstarter cover art by Derrick Chew – cropped for fair use and because the full version is too hot to handle!

 

 

(10) SERAPHINA – DEVASTATION (Worthy Chaos 2024)

 

My wildcard tenth place entry for best of 2025 comes from Worthy Chaos Comics & Cryptids with Kickstarter cover art by Derrick Chew.

In their Redemption series, “the forbidden love between Angel Seraphina & Demon Draven unfolds as they battle to survive in a realm of monsters”.

Devastation is a Western prequel or spinoff – “travel to the 1880s with our Angel & Demon soulmates where they are forced to hunt down cryptids such as the Wendigo, Bigfoot, Mothman, Chupacabra, and many more!”

 

ART & COSPLAY (MEDIA)

 

This entry will be something of a departure from my usual rules with respect to art, cosplay, and media – except to note that my feature image is promotional Kickstarter cover art by Derrick Chew for the comic, cropped for fair use and also because the full cover is too hot to handle here!

I anticipate that there will be more art with guest cover artists when the comic is launched, although it may be too niche for cosplay or media.

 

RATING:
X-TIER (WILD TIER)

 

 

Mary Jane & Black Cat 4 – 8 March 2023 (variant cover by Russell Dauterman)

 

(9) BLACK CAT (Marvel 1979)

 

Meow!

Spiderman’s catgirl – platinum blond feline-themed femme fatale Felicia Hardy. ‘Bad luck’ powers of her namesake in superstition. Sadly, yet to appear in film but for a brief cameo for her alter ego in the Amazing Spider-Man films.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I chose the variant cover from the fourth issue of Mary Jane & Black Cat. It was a close call as I regard J. Scott Campbell as the iconic cover artist for her – and Stanley ‘Artgerm’ Lau was also a close runner-up with my single favorite Black Cat art image of all time – but artist Russell Dauterman showcased her different costumes here.

Of course, her classic costume is front and center where it belongs!

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Sadly no Sciamano ranking as usual for my girls of comics, but oh boy does she have a Dandonfuga ranking, as Dandonfuga has done some sizzling art of her, including one with her getting frisky with Catwoman!

As for my top ten on the spot for Black Cat art:

1 – Dandonfuga (did you not see my reference to sizzling art, particularly that one with Catwoman?)

2 – Artgerm (for his cover art of Black Cat as my single favorite image of her – and one of my favorites of his art)

3 – J. Scott Campbell (as the iconic cover artist for her)

4 – David Nakayama (for Black Cat cover art in a similar style to J. Scott Campbell)

5 – Nathan Szerdy (for his art of her as a recurring subject)

6 – Elias Chatzoudis (for his fine Black Cat art)

7 – Neoartcore (for his cute Black Cat art)

8 – Shannon Maer (for some gorgeous Black Cat cover art)

9 – Logan Cure (for some sensuous Black Cat art)

10 – REIQ (for some distinctive Black Cat art)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 Marvel – for their cover and other art, including in their Black Cat title

2 Russell Dauterman of course, for the iconic cover art that I used for my feature image.

3 Straban for one particularly striking image of her

AI shoutout to Naughty Neurals!

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

And oh boy do we have a Helly ranking for her – Helly Valentine is the standout for Black Cat cosplay. No Yummychiyo or Hane ranking, sadly.

Close runner-up is Vampy Bit Me’s cosplay of her.

 

Collage of photograph Sydney Sweeney and Black Cat pinup art by Stanley ‘Artgerm’ Lau used on Facebook, Youtube and elsewhere as headline image to report speculation of Sweeney’s casting

 

 

 

MEDIA

 

She actually has appeared in an uncostumed cameo as her alter ego in the Amazing Spiderman 2 film, played aptly enough given the name by Felicity Jones – with her role as Black Cat planned for future films…but those plans fizzled with the rest of that film.

This may be cheating but I’m going with the persistent rumors of Sydney Sweeney being offered the role. By the way, that’s the Artgerm cover compared against Sydney in my media feature image.

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

Poison Ivy 1 – June 2022 (variant cover by Nathan Szerdy)

 

 

(8) POISON IVY (DC 1966)

 

Since her debut, Poison Ivy (originally Pamela Isley in the present incarnation of the character) has been one of Batman’s most enduring adversaries in his rogues gallery – and one of the most powerful, as one of the few with actual superpowers.

Ivy is not so much a straightforward villain, as a well-intentioned extremist – she is depicted as one of the world’s most notorious eco-terrorists and her criminal activities revolve around the protection of the natural environment, reflecting her love or obsession with plants, botany and environmentalism. Her powers also revolve botanical – or biochemical – themes, such as toxins and mind-control pheromones, typically through her touch – or kiss. The latter has led to her as a love interest or source of romantic tension for Batman.

Her powers also extend to manipulation of plants to an extremely powerful degree – manipulating their growth and abilities or modifying their traits, even animating, hybridising or mutating them. Indeed, she even embodies them – her skin tinted green with chlorophyll and plant toxins (although she can consciously control its extent when required), with some versions even having her almost more plant than human, breathing carbon dioxide or needing sunlight. She even has been identified with an elemental mystical component, part of the force identified as the Green or as the May Queen.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I’ve chosen the variant cover from the first issue of her solo title by Nathan Szerdy. Ivy has sported different styles over the years but this remains her iconic style – and indeed her classic one, which has consistently featured with variations from her Silver Age introduction, albeit with green skin tone from time to time.

Shoutout to the cover artist Nathan Szerdy – who has done some of my favorite Poison Ivy art as she is one of the most prolific subjects for his art. Also shoutout to the solo title series for some fine cover art from artists such as David Nakayama, Will Jack, Josh Burns, and Dan Panosian.

 

ART (DANDONFUGA)

 

Sadly no Sciamano ranking as usual for the girls of comics but she does score a Dandonfuga ranking.

As for my top ten on the spot for Poison Ivy art:

1 – Dandonfuga (for my Dandonfuga ranking)

2 – Nathan Szerdy (for my iconic feature image and many more – one of his best recurring subjects and my favorite art of Ivy)

3 – Sun Khamunaki (for some rocking Ivy images – including a version of the Batman and Robin film Ivy that improves upon the film version)

4 – Artgerm (for Ivy cover art)

5 – David Nakayama (for some interesting variations on Ivy art)

6 – Dan Panosian (Dan does good redhead!)

7 – Will Jack (for a particularly charming Ivy cover art)

8 – Shannon Maer (for some gorgeous cover art)

9 – Neoartcore (for art in Neoartcore’s usual style)

10 – Derrick Chew (for some playful art of Ivy)

 

SPECIAL MENTION – DC COMICS (for cover and other art, including in their Poison Ivy title)

AI art shoutout also to Naughty Neurals

 

COSPLAY

 

No Yummychiyo, Hane or Helly ranking – there’s some excellent Ivy cosplay out there, but none from my favorite models of choice. I’ll nominate Claire Ana (collaborating with her usual photographer Jeff Zoet Visuals) for her Poison Ivy cosplay.

 

 

Ivy as she appears in characteristic pose (and her favorite jacket!) in the Harley Quinn animated TV series – profile image from the fan wiki

 

MEDIA

 

The less said about the Batman & Robin film the better, even if Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy was arguably the best thing in that film – but who doesn’t love the version of Ivy (voiced by Lake Bell) in the Harley Quinn animated TV series?

Rounding out third place for media appearances (after the Harley Quinn animated series Ivy and Uma Thurman’s Ivy), I have a soft spot for the version of Ivy in yet another animated TV series, DC Super Hero Girls – where she is strangely cute as her student alter ego, even before glamming up (and strangely elfin) when going full Ivy.

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

Variant cover by Ariel Diaz for Zatanna: Bring Down the House (volume 2 of 5) published by DC Comics 24 July 2024

 

(7) ZATANNA (DC 1964)

 

I’m not going to lie – it’s that outfit that does it for me!

DC Comics occasionally defaults to outright magic as a superpower and its magical superheroine of choice is Zatanna Zatara. She first appeared in 1964, as the daughter of magician Giovanni Zatara from the earlier so-called Golden Age of Comics.

Zatanna is both a stage magician (or illusionist) and a real magician (of the mystical or magical branch of humanity or so-called ‘homo magi’ as opposed to ‘homo sapiens’). She is one of the most powerful users of magic in the world of DC Comics, a sorceress casting her spells through the focus of speaking backwards – so that potentially there would seem to be little limit to her magic and indeed she has used it to manipulate the fabric of space or time.

Interestingly, Zatanna is a character that has been given some real depth, by two of my favorite writers of comics – Neil Gaiman used her (albeit in a blonde version) in The Books of Magic, an exploration of DC Comics’ magical universe (which has always fascinated me), and Grant Morrison used her as one of his Seven Soldiers, a characteristically Morrisonesque revamping of more minor DC Comics characters.

 

ART & COSPLAY (MEDIA)

 

For my iconic feature image, I chose the variant cover by Ariel Diaz for Zatanna: Bring Down the House (volume 2 of 5) published by DC Comics 24 July 2024 – which showcases her classic costume (and fishnets!). She has had various costumes but this will always be definitive Zatanna for me.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

She does score a Dandonfuga ranking – indeed, Dandonfuga has done a few variants of artwork for her.

As for my top 10 on the spot for Zatanna art

1 – Dandonfuga (for my Dandonfuga ranking)

2 – Ariel Diaz (for my iconic feature cover art image as well as other spectacular Zatanna cover art)

3 – Nathan Szerdy (for one of his recurring and best subjects)

4 – J Scott Campbell (for Zatanna art in his usual style, including one of my favorite cover art images of her)

5 – David Nakayama (for Zatanna art in his usual style, including cover art)

6 – Artgerm (for Zatanna art in his usual style, including cover art)

7 – Neoartcore (always reliable to find art by him of almost any subject and he shines with Zatanna)

8 – Shannon Maer (for art in his usual gorgeous style)

9 – Derrick Chew (for art in his usual style)

10 – Prywinko (for art in their cheeky style)

 

SPECIAL MENTION – DC COMICS (for their cover art under their Zatanna title)

1 – Brian Bolland (He always does good fishnet stocking art)

2 – Ed Benes (He also always does good fishnet stocking art – for Zatanna with Black Canary)

3 – Shikarii (in their usual pinup style)

AI shoutout to Naughty Neurals

 

Sadly no cosplay by my favorite models.

 

 

Serina Swan as Zatanna in the Smallville TV series – 8th season 17th episode. This was perhaps the most iconic shot of her from the episode (perhaps because it has her name on a sign) although unfortunately you don’t see the fishnet stockings.

 

MEDIA

 

There’s her portrayal by Serinda Swan in the Smallville TV series, fishnet stockings and all

 

 

 

Zatanna in one of her brief non-speaking roles (so far as at Season 4) in the Harley Quinn animated TV series – profile image from the fan wiki

 

There’s also her brief cameo non-voiced appearances in the Harley Quinn animated series – hopefully she’ll have a larger (and speaking) role at some point in that series.

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

“Catwoman: Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale” – DC trade paperback collection June 2004 (cover art by Brian Bolland)

 

 

(6) CATWOMAN (DC 1940)

 

“I am Catwoman. Hear me roar!”

Meow!

No surprises here – Batman’s feline fatale Selina Kyle is one of the original bad girls of comics. With her criminal tastes limited to upmarket cat-burglary, she oscillated between (anti-)hero and villain.

With nine lives of costume changes – and her signature whip or cat o’ nine tails – but perhaps most memorably clad in a skin-tight black catsuit.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Despite the plethora of superb Catwoman cover art for her own titular comics and elsewhere, there could only be one choice for my iconic feature image – Brian Bolland’s cover art for the “Catwoman: Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale” collection, showcasing in one cover her different styles over the decades in comics, albeit I don’t think it’s exhaustive, particularly if you add in her media appearances.

Just some quick notes on the cover. Firstly, my favorite style – and what I would consider to be her definitive style, the modern or classic catsuit created by Darwyn Cooke – is front and center, as it should be, although I am also partial to the different catsuit styles that appear on the left. (Clockwise from bottom left – Jim Balent’s purple catsuit from the 90s, Frank Miller’s Year One grey catsuit in the 80s, and Bruce Timm’s catsuit design for Batman: The Animated Series in the 90s).

Secondly, Brian Bolland deserves a shoutout for his art in general – originating in Britain as my favorite artist for Judge Dredd among other things, he was part of the so-called ‘British Invasion’ of American comics, where his covers were and are legendary.

Thirdly, the different styles of Catwoman in this cover also prompts a shoutout for J. Scott Campbell, also legendary for his cover (and other) art – but in particular a series of eight covers for Catwoman’s anniversary, each showcasing a different individual style of Catwoman in gorgeous detail, including five of the costumes in Bolland’s cover. One of the other covers featured the post-Rebirth catsuit design by Joelle Jones (which in the 2010s postdated Bolland’s cover), while the remaining two covers featured her catsuit from the 1960s Batman TV series (which rivals the Cooke catsuit as my favorite) and her catsuit as worn by Michelle Pfeiffer from the Batman Returns film.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Surprisingly no Sciamano ranking –  I would have thought that Catwoman might have been one of the few girls of comics to draw (heh) his eye – but as usual Catwoman scores a Dandonfuga ranking, indeed with some of the most sizzling Dandonfuga art.

My top ten on the spot for Catwoman art

1 – Dandonfuga (for my Dandonfuga ranking)

2 – J. Scott Campbell (particularly for those covers of her iconic costumes)

3 – David Nakayama (who’s been knocking it out of the park lately with his Catwoman covers)

4 – Nathan Szerdy (ditto his Catwoman covers)

5 – Sun Khamunaki (with a superb art version of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman)

6 – Artgerm (for standout Catwoman covers, including the Michelle Pfeiffer version)

7 – Elias Chatzoudis (for standout Catwoman art, including the Michelle Pfeiffer version)

8 – Shannon Maer (for some gorgeous Catwoman art)

9 – Will Jack (also for some gorgeous Catwoman art)

10 – Ayyasap (yeah – for some fine Catwoman art)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 DC Comics (for all the Catwoman cover art and artists)

2 Brian Bolland (for that cover!)

3 Jim Balent (for his iconic 90s Catwoman art)

4 Jonatas Ferreira (for one of my favorite images of Catwoman)

5 Boo Sweeney (for a fine leggy Catwoman variant cover)

AI shoutout to Naughty Neurals!

 

COSPLAY

 

There’s some excellent Catwoman cosplay out there but none from my holy trinity or favorite models of choice – with the exception of honorable mention for Leeanna Vamp, who did a fine set of Catwoman in the Cooke catsuit.

 

MEDIA

 

Catwoman has more notable (and favorite) media adaptations for me than any of my other Top 10 Girls of Comics.

 

From left to right – Lee Merriweather (film), Julie Newmar (the GOAT in seasons 1-2), and Eartha Kitt (season 3) from the 1966 Batman TV series and film

 

 

First, there’s the slinky suited Catwoman from the 1960s Batman TV series, played by no less than three different actresses – Julie Newmar (Seasons 1 and 2), Lee Merriweather (film), and Eartha Kitt (Season 3). Look – the latter two were good but Julie Newmar rocked that catsuit best.

 

Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in the 1992 Batman Returns film directed by Tim Burton

 

Second, there’s Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman in her slinky and distinctively stitched catsuit from the 1992 Batman Returns film directed by Tim Burton. As per her most famous quote from the film – Meow!

 

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in the 2012 Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan as the third film in his Batman trilogy

 

Third, there’s Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman in her slinky catsuit in the more realistic style of the Batman film trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan, although we had to wait to the third film to get her.

 

Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman in the 2022 film The Batman directed by Matt Reeves

 

Fourth, there’s Zoe Kravitz zipping up in her Catwoman suit in the 2022 film The Batman directed by Matt Reeves.

 

 

Catwoman (voiced by Sanaa Lathan) as she appears in the Harley Quinn animated TV series – profile image from the fan wiki

 

Finally – fifth, Catwoman has appeared in a number of animated versions. I have a soft spot for her as drawn by Bruce Timm but my favorite animated version is in the Harley Quinn Animated TV series, voiced by Sanaa Lathan. Which come to think of it, makes Catwoman not only my top ten place entry with the most media adaptations but also the most diverse media adaptations – with three black versions of her, including those portrayed by Eartha Kitt and Zoe Kravitz.

 

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

Harley Quinn’s Villain of the Year – November 2019 (variant cover D by J. Scott Campbell)

 

(5) HARLEY QUINN (DC 1993)

 

Hot slice of crazy. Perky female minion. Pin-up girl for crazed co-dependency.

Psychiatric intern at Arkham Asylum who became infatuated with the Joker – a relationship as unhealthy as one might expect for her and Gotham City.

Originated in the Batman: The Animated Series, but proved so popular she was imported into the comics.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I’ve chosen the art by iconic cover artist J. Scott Campbell for his variant cover D from the one-shot Harley Quinn: Villain of the Year comic, as it nicely juxtaposes her moden and classic costumes – my two favorite costumes for her.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

No Sciamano ranking as usual for girls of comics but she has a mighty fine Dandonfuga ranking!

As for my favorite Harley Quinn art, she’s a popular subject for artists so almost all of my favorite artists have tried their hand at her – so here’s my top ten on the spot for Harley Quinn art.

1 – Dandonfuga (for my Dandonfuga ranking

2 – J Scott Campbell (for my iconic feature image – and more! Particularly his covers for her as Villain of the Year)

3 – Nathan Szerdy (as one of the best and most recurring subjects of his art)

4 – David Nakayama (for standout Harley Quinn cover art)

5 – Artgerm (for sensational Harley Quinn cover art)

6 – Neoartcore (for Harley Quinn fan art)

7 – Kikol Draws (for one of my favorite images of Harley fan art)

8 – Derrick Chew (for playful Harley Quinn art in different styles)

9 – Shannon Maer (for gorgeous Harley Quinn cover art)

10 – Will Jack (for cute Harley Quinn cover art)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 – DC Comics, for their covers and art for Harley Quinn in her own title and others

2 – Sun Khamunaki, for her rare Harley Quinn art

3 – Keith Garvey, for his art in the style of the Harley in her film adaptation

4 – Lucio Parrillo, for painted art of Harley to resemble her film actress (and with her pet hyenas)

5 – Amanda Conner, for her signature style art of Harley

6 – Warren Louw, for some striking Harley art

7 – Logan Cure (for some sumptuous Harley art)

AI shoutout to End of Line, Naughty Neurals and Sakura.

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

No Yummychiyo or Hane ranking but she scores a Helly ranking with some standout Harley cosplay by Helly Valentine – and in her modern costume (or a latex adaptation of it) to boot.

 

Margot Robbie in her signature (and her most iconic) pose as Harley Quinn in the 2016 Suicide Squad film – as opposed to Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad film in 2021

 

MEDIA

 

Harley Quinn’s adaptation in three live-action films may have been a mixed bag – with the only good one as The Suicide Squad in 2021, as opposed to Suicide Squad (without the definite article in the title) in 2016 – but Australia’s Margot Robbie shone in the role throughout all three films. And although the film in which she was introduced – Suicide Squad in 2016 – was lacklustre apart from her in the role, the costume in which she was introduced proved an enduring favorite among fans and cosplayers.

 

The girl herself as she appears in her own animated TV series (well, after her costume change in the first episode) – profile image fan wiki

 

 

And of course Harley Quinn starring in her own animated TV series, voiced to (surprising) perfection by Kaley Cuoco – my favorite version of the character in any media.

 

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD TIER)

 

 

Lady Death Pin Ups 1 – Naughty Conquest edition July 2014 (art by Paolo Pantalena)

 

(4) LADY DEATH (CHAOS – COFFIN 1991)

 

The definitive 1990’s comics ‘bad girl’. The female embodiment (in every sense of the word) of the nineties antihero in the ‘Dark Age of comics’ – typically dark action girls or avengers, anti-heroic or villainous in nature, with supernatural or occult themes, and above all, voluptuously statuesque and stripperiffic.

Written by Brian Pulido, she originated as an outright villainous figure, a supernaturally pale beautiful female personification of death, but subsequently took shape as an anti-hero or hero

Her story has repeatedly changed as she has bounced between publishers and reboots, but essentially it involved been damned to hell (or somewhere like it) through magic (hence her appearance), only to rise to reign or wage war in hell.

Sadly, such a potentially promising story has been consistently let down by her plots – mostly cat-fights with other demon girls.

It is tempting to think what other writers might have made of Lady Death and her mythic underworld setting – thic sensibilities, Grant Morrison or Mark Millar with their subversive humor, Mike Carey with his play on infernal power politics (particularly as Morrison, Millar and Carey wrote for Vampirella)

Hell, even Frank Miller would have offered up something interesting a la his anti-heroic underworld in Sin City – or at least been outrageously fun about it.

So alas – she might have ranked even higher, but she earns her place in my top ten as befits any girl confident enough to wage war in hell and rule it in a g-string and high-heeled thigh-high boots.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

If there’s one thing Lady Death is known for – well one more thing than the two obvious things – it’s her covers or pinups (essentially the same thing), many of which would serve as iconic feature image but I’ve chosen this pinup art by Paola Pantalena, one of her recurring artists, as it just seems to me a visual encapsulation of the character.

 

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

Sadly no Sciamano ranking – his Lady Death would rock going by his Atago Race Queen art or Azur Lane art in general – but she does score a Dandonfuga ranking, albeit not as much or to the usual Dandonfuga standout standard.

When it comes to Lady Death art, the best showcase is arguably the Coffin Comics website, her present publisher. As I said, if there’s one thing Lady Death is known for, it’s her prolific art of high quality in covers or pinups that one is spoilt for choice. Essentially, if there’s an artist known for their pin-up art, they’ll have done Lady Death.

 

My Lady Death art top ten on the spot  – drawn (heh) from my favorite artists

1 – Dandonfuga (for my usual top Dandonfuga ranking)

2 – Elias Chatzoudis (for excellent recurring cover art)

3 – Sun Khamunaki (also for excellent recurring cover art)

4 – Nathan Szerdy (for characteristic pinup style art)

5 – Keith Garvey (also for characteristic pinup style art)

6 – J. Scott Campbell (for art in distinctive style)

7 – David Nakayama (for art in distinctive style – influenced by or very similar to J. Scott Campbell)

8 – Artgerm (for his go-to Lady Death cover art)

9 – Shannon Maer (for his go-to Lady Death cover art)

10 – Mike Krome (Australian artist known for his Lady Death covers)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 – Coffin Comics

2 – Paolo Pantalena

And all the stable of artists for Coffin Comics who have not previously been mentioned. The top artists nominated by Coffin Comics themselves in their site include Paolo Pantalena of course – the artist for my iconic feature image – but also Eric Basaldua, Dawn McTeigue, and Mike DeBalfo.

Also AI shoutout to Naughty Neurals.

 

COSPLAY

 

As for Lady Death cosplay, that’s a different story as it takes a certain statuesque quality in lingerie to pull it off. (And presumably a lot of white body paint, as well as white contacts and wig). One such model was Tabita Lyons (or Artyfakes) – so much so that Coffin Comics used her for one of their pinup covers. Alas Octokuro is another such model but has not done it. Dutch glamor model (and Playmate) April Eve was another model who rocked Lady Death.

Yummychiyo could absolutely pull it off with her insane figure but like Sciamano she tends to focus on characters from video games or anime. So too could Hane or Helly, but sadly no ranking from them either.

 

MEDIA

 

Apparently there was an animated film in 2004 but it didn’t rock.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS-TIER)

 

Red Sonja 4 Dynamite Entertainment 2005 variant cover art by Marc Silvestri – also used as the cover for the Art of Red Sonja collected volume 2011

 

 

(3) RED SONJA (MARVEL-DYNAMITE 1973)

 

She-devil with a sword.

Archetypal barbarian babe – the scantily-clad voluptuous warrior or sword maiden that has emerged as a stock figure in fantasy art, down to her utterly impractical chainmail bikini.

She has shown off her she-devil swordplay ever since her 1973 debut in Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian – earning her own title, like Xena to Conan’s Hercules.

Loosely based on an earlier character, Red Sonya, in a short story by Conan’s creator Robert E. Howard – but not one of his actual Conan stories.

She acquired her legendary skill in combat from the red goddess Scathach. Hence her chainmail bikini – she relies on her uncanny fighting skill, athleticism and (perhaps) divine protection rather than armor.

I have a particular soft spot for her as an embattled fantasy figure, striving against numerous foes, symbolic of the battles of life itself . And of course for that chainmail bikini.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, what else could I choose but the Marc Silvestri cover art that was also selected by Dynamite Entertainment as cover for their Art of Red Sonja collection? It’s also a classic pose by her in her classic chainmail bikini. Although it was a close call as one is spoilt for choice for fantastic Red Sonja art – really you could just scroll through her Dynamite covers.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

As for my favorite Red Sonja art, that chainmail bikini is irresistible to pinup artists – if an artist is known for pinup art, they’ve probably done some Red Sonja at some point. A special shoutout has to go to Lucio Parrillo for his gorgeous painted Red Sonja cover art – she’s probably his most prolific subject with the possible exception of my second place entry.

Sadly no Sciamano ranking – I’d love to see his Red Sonja given his Rebecca from One Piece with her similar bikini armor – but fortunately she gets a Dandonfuga ranking as Dandonfuga steps up as usual for the top girls of comics.

As for my Red Sonja art top ten on the spot

1 – Dandonfuga (for my mandatry top Dandonfuga ranking)

2 – Lucio Parrillo (for regular outstanding cover art)

3 – Elias Chatzoudis (for regular outstanding cover art!)

4 – Sun Khamunaki (for distinctive Red Sonja art)

5 – Nathan Szerdy (for distinctive Red Sonja art!)

6 – Shannon Maer (for gorgeous cover art)

7 – J. Scott Campbell (for some of the most distinctive Red Sonja art)

8 – David Nakayama (for Red Sonja cover art in a modern style)

9 – Dan Panosian (Dan does good redhead art!)

10 – Josh Burns (for glorious painted Red Sonja art, often coupled with Vampirella)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 – Dynamite Entertainment (just scroll through those covers)

2 – Marc Silvestri (for my iconic feature image)

3 – Ed Benes (for his Red Sonja art as my personal favorite of all his art)

4 – Wagner Reis (for his Red Sonja cover art as a close call for feature image)

5 – Adam Hughes (for his standout art featuring Red Sonja’s shock at seeing herself in Slayboy – and the Slayboy centerfold as well)

6 – Amanda Conner (for her distinctive art)

AI shoutout to Nho Eskape, End of Line and Naughty Neurals.

 

COSPLAY

 

As for cosplay, it’s a big chainmail bikini to fill but Octokuro and Tabitha Lyons are more than up to the task, the latter for cosplay cover art for the Red Sonja comic itself.

Sadly no Yummychiyo, Hane or Helly ranking – all of whom would rock that chainmail bikini.

 

 

Promotional “coming soon” art for the 2025 Red Sonja film with Matilda Lutz in the title role

 

MEDIA

 

Yes – there was a 1985 Red Sonja film with Brigitte Nielsen in the title role but it didn’t have any impact. Although at least it was actually made, as opposed to the Red Sonja film in development in the 2010s with Rose McGowan (or Amber Heard) in the title role, albeit it gave us some good concept art posters. Things looked more promising for the 2025 Red Sonja film with Matilda Lutz as Red Sonja but had the same lack of impact as the film forty years beforehand.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS-TIER)

 

Two variant Vampirella covers by Roberto Castro for Dynamite Entertainment – “homaging two legendary artists and covers for Vampi”, with the one on the right homaging her very first cover with art by Frank Frazetta for Warren Publishing in September 1969

 

(2) VAMPIRELLA (WARREN – DYNAMITE 1969)

 

The original classic ‘bad girl’ of comics.

Also a precursor of that modern fantasy figure, the good vampire who hunts other vampires, although with tongue firmly in cheek in Vampirella’s case.

In her deliberately campy origin story, she is an alien vampire – part of a race that evolved on the planet Drakulon, a world in which the water was blood (just go with it, ok?).

And she came to Earth, obviously packing only her holiday swimwear and boots.

She has been immortal ever since, albeit with different publishers and ever changing origin story (as a daughter of Lilith and Drakulon as part of Hell but, you know, a good part?). She’s still a good vampire hunting evil vampires.

She’s had her pick of top writers of comics – Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Mike Carey, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis and Kurt Busiek

She’s iconic enough to be portrayed by promotional models and even a cameo in-joke in television’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer (sadly only a toy figurine).

Not bad for a vampire girl from Drakulon.

 

ART & COSPLAY (MEDIA & MODELS)

 

For her iconic feature image, there was any number of classic cover images that suggested themselves but I went with an image featuring two recent variant Vampirella covers by Roberto Castro for Dynamite Entertainment – “homaging two legendary artists and covers for Vampi”, with the one on the right homaging her very first cover with art by Frank Frazetta for Warren Publishing in September 1969

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Her swimsuit costume seems even more irresistible to artists than Red Sonja’s chainmail bikini, although it’s probably too close to call as to which of the two of them is the greater muse to artists in comics, particularly as they are now both published by Dynamite Entertainment and have even crossed over with each other, although my favorite crossover between them was actually also a crossover with Betty and Veronica in Archie.

Sadly no Sciamano ranking – I’d love to see it as I think she would rock her swimsuit and boots in his art – but fortunately she gets a Dandonfuga ranking with Dandonfuga stepping up as usual for the girls of comics.

I’m spoilt for choice even more than for Red Sonja but here’s my top ten on the spot for Vampirella art:

1 – Dandonfuga (for my mandatory top Dandonfuga ranking)

2 – Sun Khamunaki (for art of Vampirella as one of her best and most recurring subjects)

3 – Nathan Szerdy (for art of Vampirella as one of his best and most recurring subjects, particularly for use of blood, light and shading)

4 – Elias Chatzoudis (for recurring cover art of Vampirella)

5 – Lucio Parrillo (for gorgeous recurring painted cover art of Vampirella)

6 – Shannon Maer (for gorgeous recurring cover art of Vampirella)

7 – Artgerm (for some of the most classic cover art of Vampirella)

8 – J. Scott Campbell (for one of the most classic cover art images of Vampirella)

9 – Keith Garvey (for his signature pinup art)

10 – Josh Burns (for gorgeous painted cover art of Vampirella)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 – Dynamite Entertainment (Just scroll through their covers – featuring most of the artists I’ve listed here and more)

2 – Roberto Castro (for my feature image, homaging two classic covers for Vampirella – including her very first cover! Speaking of which…)

3 – Frank Frazetta (the classic first cover of Vampirella)

4 – Dan Panosian (he does good Red Sonja so no surprise he does good Vampirella as well)

5 – Derrick Chew (for some great Vampirella art with other characters – my favorite Vampirella art with Purgatori)

6 – Amanda Conner (for classic Vampirella cover art)

7 – Dawn McTeigue (for some exotic Vampirella art)

8 – Mike Krome (for one cover in particular – which inspired some awesome cosplay)

9 – Luis Royo (who excels in fantasy art, particularly dark fantasy art vampire or other women – so not surprisingly he has done Vampirella)

10 – Kyu Yong Eom (for some reason Luis Royo prompts to mind Kyu Yong Eom – who has also done fantasy art of Vampirella)

11 – Mimi Yoon (for similarly exotic Vampirella art to that of Dawn McTeigue)

12 – Randy Green (for one of my favorite facial portraits of Vampirella)

13 – BTG (for some of my favorite digital art of Vampirella)

Shout-out to Vampirella in AI – Naughty Neurals for their images of Vampirella, Nho Eskape for their inventive images of Vampi (as images of Vampirella are apparently hard to prompt), and End of Line for their composite digital art image of Vampirella.

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

As for cosplay, like Red Sonja’s chainmail bikini, it’s a big swimsuit and boots to fill. Sadly no Yummychiyo or Hane ranking – both of whom would rock the swimsuit and boots since they have sported similar swimsuit designs for other cosplay – but Vampirella certain scores a Helly ranking, with one of my favorite cosplays by Helly Valentine.

Just as they filled out Red Sonja’s chainmail bikini to perfection, so too not surprisingly do Octokuro and Tabitha Lyons fill out Vampirella’s legendary swimsuit in the same way – to which we can add Kalinka Fox for her Vampirella cosplay. Also Lada Lyumos for cosplay of that Mike Krome cover.

 

Kitana Baker model photo cover – Vampirella: Southern Gothic 4, Dynamite Entertainment, November 2013

 

 

MEDIA & MODELS

 

Where is the screen Vampirella adaptation?!

Well yes, other than the 1996 film with Bond girl Talisa Soto in the lead role which…did not have much of an impact, although Talisa is cute enough.

However, Vampirella has a long history of official cover models portraying her – enough for a top ten or twenty – including her present models (Joanie Brosas, Faces by Rachie, and Rachel Hollon), but the standout model for me will always be Kitana Baker. I will accept no debate on this topic.

 

And for more Vampirella top tens…

Top 10 Girls of Vampirella
Top 10 Girls of Vampirella (Special Mention)

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS-TIER)

 

Wonder Woman cover art by Ed Benes

 

 

(1) WONDER WOMAN (DC 1941)

 

Could there be any doubt? The top position has to go to THE most famous, THE most iconic and THE most enduring superheroine in comics.

Visually striking – blue-eyed, raven-haired and voluptuous in her star-spangled costume, with her golden lariat of truth and her bullet-deflecting bracelets.

With a story drawn from classical mythology, the Amazon Princess Diana of Themyscira was created by American psychologist William Moulton Marston, who also invented the polygraph lie detector – hence the lariat.

Marston also had a keen interest in bondage, hence the recurring bondage theme of his comics. And also the lariat.

Anyway, along with Catwoman, she was my other earliest childhood crush.

“Wonder Woman! Wonder Woman!
All the world is waiting for you and the power you possess
In your satin tights, fighting for your rights
And the old red, white and blue!”

 

ART & COSPLAY (MEDIA & MODELS)

 

For her iconic feature image, I’ve chosen the New 52 cover art by Ed Benes, featuring her in what I consider to be her classic costume (except for the cape) – and Ed Benes does damn fine art.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Sadly no Sciamano ranking – despite Sciamano’s focus on characters from video games or anime, I still find it surprising that he has not done any art of Wonder Woman at least. However, she does score a Dandonfuga ranking with some of my favorite art of Wonder Woman, particularly in her modern costume.

 

As for my Wonder Woman art top ten on the spot

1 – Dandonfuga (for my usual Dandonfuga ranking in top spot)

2 – Sun Khamunaki (for consistently good art)

3 – Nathan Szerdy (for Wonder Woman as one of his best recurring subjects)

4 – J. Scott Campbell (for my favorite series of Wonder Woman covers for her anniversary, with her holy trinity of vintage, classic and modern costumes)

5 – David Nakayama (for some of the best recent Wonder Woman comics covers)

6 – Stanley “Artgerm” Lau (for his signature cover art)

7 – Warren Louw (for one of my favorite images of Wonder Woman)

8 – Keith Garvey (for his signature pinup art)

9 – Elias Chatzoudis (also for his signature pinup art)

10 – Neoartcore (for art of Wonder Woman by one of my favorite – and most prolific – digital artists)

 

SPECIAL MENTION

1 – DC Comics (for their Wonder Woman comics cover art in general, including most of the artists in this top ten or these special mentions)

2 – Ed Benes (for my feature image)

3 – David Finch (who came very close to scoring my iconic feature image with his cover art)

4 – Michael Turner (with yet another contender for iconic feature image)

5 – Nicola Scott (Australian artist for whom Wonder Woman is one of her best subjects – including a collage of the different costumes)

6 – Shannon Maer (for art in his characteristic style)

7 – Will Jack (for art in his characteristic style)

8 – Greg Horn (for art in his chacteristic style)

9 – Dan Panosian (for his Wonder Woman cover art)

 

Shoutout to her as a recurring subject for AI imagery – Nho Eskape, End of Line and Naughty Neurals

 

COSPLAY

 

As for cosplay, she is sadly under-represented among my favorite cosplay models – no Yummychiyo, Hane, or Helly, all of whom would rock the most iconic girl of comics. My favorite Wonder Woman cosplay is by fitness model Denise Milani, whose statuesque proportions were shaped by the Olympians themselves for it. Kalinka Fox and Tabitha Lyons are close runners up.

 

Collage of matching poses by Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in the 1976 TV series and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe films

 

 

MEDIA & MODELS

 

As for her media appearances, two come to mind foremost for Wonder Woman – Lynda Carter in the 1970s TV series and Gal Gadot in the DCEU films.

 

“Ugh, how does she pull off those clunky bracelets?” Diana or Wonder Woman as she appears in the Harley Quinn animated TV series (voiced by Vanessa Marshall) – profile image from the fan wiki

 

Animation honorable mention for her depiction in the Harley Quinn animated series voiced by Vanessa Marshall. Although let’s face it – Wonder Woman will look good in almost any live-action or animated appearance.

 

 

Collage of Australian models Megan Gale as Wonder Woman (left) and Miranda Kerr as Wonder Woman (right) for her Australia Day photo shoot with Grazia fashion magazine

 

And here’s my top ten on the spot for models or celebrities who have donned the Wonder Woman costume:

1 – Megan Gale

Australian model who almost played her for a Justice League film to be directed by none other than…George Miller. Oh – what could have been! Well at least Miller had her show up naked in Mad Max Fury Road (as the bait in the “that’s bait” scene since immortalized in meme)

2- Miranda Kerr

Speaking of Australian models, this Aussie supermodel donned the Wonder Woman costume and waved the Australian flag for her Australia Day photo shoot with Grazia fashion magazine. Come to think of it, it’s not just the American flag that matches the star-spangled red white and blue of Wonder Woman’s costume – the Australian flag could do just as well for Wonder Woman’s costume!

3 – Rachel Bilson

I can literally tell you nothing else about TV series The OC other than that Rachel Bilson dons the Wonder Woman costume in it as a present for her boyfriend. And everyone else, not least the audience

4 – Olivia Munn

It’s Olivia Munn. ‘Nuff said – hot nerd alert. (She’s a fan of comics so naturally has worn the Wonder Woman costume)

5- Kaley Cuoco

Speaking of Harley Quinn, Kaley Cuoco donned the costume in The Big Bang Theory

6 – Sarah Michelle Gellar

Buffy does Wonder Woman! I think it was for a SNL skit.

7 – Adrianne Palicki

Another model and actress who was cast as Wonder Woman – in this case in an unaired 2011 TV pilot

8 – Kim Kardashian

9 – Kendall Jenner

I suppose I’ll open it up to celebrity Halloween costumes or cosplay – and as usual, these two made headlines.

10 – Anissa Kate

Ahem. Yes of course Wonder Woman has been a favorite subject for depiction in, ah, adult films. Indeed, I could have compiled this top ten purely from adult film stars cast in the role but I’ll go with Anissa Kate as the best (and also from the images I found compiling this top ten the one modelled most closely on Gal Gadot’s depiction in the DCEU).

 

And as for more Wonder Woman top tens…

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS-TIER)

 

 

 

 

FANTASY GIRLS –
GIRLS OF COMICS: TOP 10 (TIER LIST)

 

S-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

(1) WONDER WOMAN

Yeah – she pretty much defined girls in comics for me.

(2) VAMPIRELLA

(3) RED SONJA

(4) LADY DEATH

(5) HARLEY QUINN

If Wonder Woman is my Old Testament of girls in comics, then Vampirella, Red Sonja, Lady Death and Harley Quinn are my New Testament.

 

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

(6) CATWOMAN

(7) ZATANNA

(8) POISON IVY

(9) BLACK CAT

 

X-TIER (WILD TIER)

(10) SERAPHINA

Finally my wildcard tenth place entry as best of 2025 is Seraphina.

Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): Special Mention (Funk): (3) Groove Armada – I See You Baby

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Groove Armada’s logo

 

(3) FUNK: GROOVE ARMADA –
I SEE YOU BABY (1999)
B-side: Paper Romance (2010)

 

“This is the house that funk built – Groove Armada style!”

Nuff said.

Or perhaps not – Groove Armada (English electronic music duo Andy Cato and Tom Findlay) is another big beat funk entry from the 1990’s.

This entry, I See You Baby, is arguably their signature single and certainly one of the defining songs of 1999-2000. Although the original single was funky in itself, I prefer the even funkier remix by Fatboy Slim. (Interestingly, the duo DJ’d Fatboy Slim’s – or rather, Norman Cook’s – wedding). Watch out for that video – it gets a little raunchy

“You got to get on the dance floor…Oh this party got it going on!”

Don’t look for much in the way of lyrical depth (or lyrics) there – it’s all about the funk.

For my B-side – their 2010 single Paper Romance from their album Black Light (also remixed with other songs in their White Light album that year)

As for the balance of my Top 10 Groove Armada songs:
(3) Song 4 Mutya (2007)
(4) If Everybody Looked the Same (1999)
(5) Madder (2003)
(6) Superstyling (2001)
(7) My Friend (2001)
(8) Think Twice (2002)
(9) Purple Haze (2002)
(10) But I Feel Good (2003)

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

Top Tens – History: Top 10 History Books (6) Adrian Goldsworthy – How Rome Fell

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Cover – 2010 Yale University Press edition

 

(6) ADRIAN GOLDSWORTHY –

HOW ROME FELL: DEATH OF A SUPERPOWER (2009)

 

 

I’ve used the American title for the book because I prefer it as more catchy – and it also prompts to mind one of my personal highlights of the book in its introduction, dismissing the cliché of comparing the decline and fall of the Roman Empire to the modern United States (a cliché with which Goldsworthy entertainingly relates that he is routinely accosted at dinner parties when he informs someone of his historical speciality).

 

As to the question in the book’s title, in a nutshell Goldsworthy answers that they did it to themselves. It’s a little like the twist in Fight Club, with the Romans revealed as the protagonist beating himself up, to the bemusement of the barbarian onlookers – and their delight when picking up the pieces.

 

I think it’s a solid answer. Goldsworthy does not dismiss the various barbarian invasions as the reason for the empire’s demise but that looks to the question of how they did so, given that the empire’s adversaries were not fundamentally different from when the empire successfully resisted them – and in the case of the various German tribes, so surprisingly small compared to the empire.

 

As Goldsworthy memorably observes, no matter who won their seemingly endless civil wars or wars of imperial succession, the losses were all Roman, weakening the empire as a whole against its external adversaries. Another memorable observation is how the Romans never really left the crisis of the third century, just muted it to fewer civil wars and usurpations.

 

Also, the Romans ultimately played a losing game enlisting German tribes as allies or foederati in its own territory – in that the territory occupied by the Germans was no longer Roman territory, with the Romans losing any revenue from those territories, or any manpower beyond that provided by the Germans. Thanks a lot, Theodosius – you empire killer.

 

As for the history itself, Goldsworthy takes the same starting point as that of Gibbon’s famous History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire – itself following on from Roman historian Cassius Dio who marked it as their descent from “a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron” – the death of Marcus Aurelius and accession of Commodus in 180 AD.

 

However, he pulls up stumps well before Gibbon’s finishing point, wrapping up the book aptly enough with the reign of Heraclius and the empire’s territory lost to the Arabs.

 

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

Top Tens – History: Top 10 History Books (7) Peter Heather – The Fall of the Roman Empire

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Cover 2007 paperback edition published by Oxford University Press – the edition I own

 

 

(7) PETER HEATHER –

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE: A NEW HISTORY OF ROME & THE BARBARIANS (2005)

 

Once again it’s the titular fall of the Roman Empire, that “melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, retreating to the breath of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear and naked shingles of the world”.

As I said in the previous entry, the usual discourse or debate over the decline and fall of the Roman Empire is as to which of those two predominate – that is, whether it was more a matter of internal decline or external fall. Proponents of the latter have been dubbed the Movers – tracing “the collapse of the Western Roman Empire to external migration” – to be contrasted with the former as the Shakers, tracing “the collapse to internal developments within the empire”.

Heather falls squarely in the camp of the Movers.

“Heather contends that it was the movements of “barbarians” in the Migration Period which led to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. He accepts the traditional view that it was the arrival of the Huns on the Pontic steppe in the late 4th century which set these migrations in motion. Heather’s approach differs from many of his predecessors in the late 20th century, who have tended to downplay the importance migration played in the fall of the Western Roman Empire…According to Heather, the idea that the invading barbarians were peacefully absorbed into Roman civilisation “smells more of wishful thinking than likely reality”.

In a nutshell, Heather’s thesis is that the barbarians did it. Well, perhaps not quite the barbarians the Romans knew them, as his thesis is that the barbarians had changed to match Rome in military capacity.

“Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long… Europe’s barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart…the Huns overturned the existing strategic balance of power on Rome’s European frontiers, to force the Goths and others to seek refuge inside the Empire. This prompted two generations of struggle, during which new barbarian coalitions, formed in response to Roman hostility, brought the Roman west to its knees… the Roman Empire was not on the brink of social or moral collapse. What brought it to an end were the barbarians.”

With this nutshell comes eye-opening nuggets. There’re those new barbarian coalitions with their capacity to mobilize critical masses of military force that were able to match those of the Romans – and which in a perfect storm of a combination of critical masses outmatched and overwhelmed the empire. It’s always intrigued me how the barbarians, with such tiny populations in proportion to the empire, were seemingly able to punch so far above their weight.

I also gained a new appreciation of the resilience of the western Roman empire, particularly in the ability of the strongmen who actually ruled it in the fourth and fifth centuries to repeatedly stabilize the chaos that invariably ensued from the collapse of the previous strongmen – although it was something of a ratcheting down effect, as each successive stabilization lost that little bit more.

Heather also persuaded me that the eastern empire was not entirely supine sleeping through the fall of the western empire, as it did lend military aid at more points than I had sneered at it for, but I stand by it was not much more – and with poor effect, luck or timing – such that it mostly slept through the fall of the west, particularly under the emperor Theodosius II.

That’s right – the Theodosian dynasty, the dynasty I love to hate, the dynasty in which the only good members (Constantius III and Marcian) married into it.

 

RATING:

A-TIER (TOP TIER)